container

[kuhn-tey-ner]

noun

1. anything that contains or can contain something, as a carton, box, crate, or can.

2. a large, vanlike, reuseable box for consolidating smaller crates or cartons into a single shipment, designed for easy and fast loading and unloading of freight.

container

/ kənˈteɪnə /

noun

1. an object used for or capable of holding, esp for transport or storage, such as a carton, box, etc

2. 1. a large cargo-carrying standard-sized container that can be loaded from one mode of transport to another

   2. ( as modifier )

      a container port

      a container ship

Word History and Origins

Origin of container¹

1400–50 for an earlier sense; 1495–1505 container for def. 1; late Middle English conteiner; contain, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Initially, the conservationists install plastic containers with toxic bait in trees, with self-resetting kill traps often placed along borders to slow new animals from coming in.

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The eight-decade-old shell was found at one of the port’s six container terminals, according to a port spokesperson.

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You can also fill your water containers there.

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Then there’s a place in Frogtown called Wax Paper, and it’s basically in a shipping container on a corner of the street.

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The hawks — named Bubba and Alice — were housed in green containers in the back seat and vanished along with the vehicle.

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Related Words

• bag 
• bottle 
• bowl 
• box 
• bucket 
• can 
• canister 
• capsule 
• carton 
• crate 
• dish 
• jar 
• jug 
• kettle 
• package 
• packet 
• pail 
• pot 
• pouch 
• sack